Of Silver and Gold
by ChestnutBrumby
Summary: AU Ice Age fic set after IC3. Diego/Shira centric. Diego rescues Sasha, a drowning tiger cub, from a raging river, but he gains a helping paw to do so. How will Shira, the sabre in search of her destiny, react to Diego's odd lifestyle? And will she ever learn to trust him? Please review to let me know what you think, positive or negative!
1. Prologue

Shira lifted her head and glared into the eyes of the two big male sabres blocking the path into the cave. "I'm coming through." She warned in a cool, steely voice. The male on the left, Marco, snarled deep in his throat and tensed as if he were thinking about pouncing on her, and the other, Fynn, extended his claws. Shira flicked one ear disdainfully as she stalked by them. The males growled after her, but did not make a move to hinder her.

She was one of the smallest of the great Western Pride of sabre-toothed tigers, and set apart by her silver fur. The Westerners were suspicious of her unusual colour, but her grandfather, Kane, was one of the highest-ranked elders of the Pride and they could not risk his anger in casting her from the group.

Shira was met by her father, Ligan. She didn't take after him physically - he was massive, she was small in stature, his fur was the normal sandy shade of a sabre to her silvers and whites. But she did share his sudden ferocity. Ligan was a renowned warrior of the Pride and he had passed on every skill he kenw to his only daughter. He was torn - he loved her, his only daughter, but she was different, and he could never publicly display how much she meant to him. Shira knew this; glimpsed occasionally the warm heart of the father who taught her to fight and hunt and drove her until she had not a breath left in her. It was how he showed his love so only she knew. She knew him better than he knew her; he had always kept himself as a distance. Still, sometimes Shira saw him looking at her in a way he never looked at her three brothers. Whatever his regrets were, he had never voiced them.

"Father." She bowed her head as was proper of a lower ranked member to a senior warrior. With a sigh, Ligan inclined his head in return. "Go quickly, my daughter. My father's nights are numbered." He warned, the tingle of sorrow through steel just audible to her knowing ear.

As a cub, when her siblings and others her age had teased her and picked on her because of her fur, Shira had been taken under wing by Kane, her father's father. The old tiger had travelled far, seen much, and was not bound by the Western Pride's strict hierarchy and rules of what was proper. Kane was her closest friend within the Pride, and Shira could hardly accept that her canny old grandfather would soon be gone.

She had come to say goodbye.

"Shira." Rasped the voice cracked with age, and she drew forward to press her small muzzle against his larger, battle-scarred one. "Grandfather." she whispered, sitting at his side. He was on a raised platform of branches, covered with ferns for comfort. She had collected those herself. "Time is short, little one." He murmured, his now-milky eyes, once so sharp, focusing on her blue ones. Those blue eyes, yet another thing setting her apart from her amber-eyed Pridemates.

"Don't say that Grandfather." Begged Shira, but he twitched his whiskers impatiently. "Don't tell me what to say." He grunted, a spark of his old spirit flaring up. "Young upstart." He grumbled, and she smiled at him through tearing eyes. "My apologies, Grandfather. Will you grace me with your wisdom?"

He chuckled, knowing her too well to understand when she was teasing him. But then his face grew serious. "Just once more, my girl. You must not stay with the Western Pride once I am gone. I will no longer be able to protect you. Your father has many long missions ahead, scouting and hunting. You must travel a great distance and find safety where you least expect it. Your mother would not want you to stay in a place with so little happiness." Kane spoke with finality. He had always approved of the tigress his son had taken as a mate, and had shared Ligan's sorrow when she was killed by a pack of wolves when hunting, shortly after her litter of five had been born. Despite Shira's strange fur colour, he saw a lot of her mother in her.

"You want me to leave?" Questioned Shira. Coughing, Kane rumbled in annoyance. "You heard me girl, and there's no time to waste asking questions to which you already know the answers. Leave tonight." He ordered, cuffing her gently over the ear.

"But... how _can_ I leave you?" Shira murmured, feeling a great, overwhelming sense of loss for the old tiger she loved. He reached forward and nuzzled her gently. "I will not survive this night, my girl. It was always your destiny to tread the path of no other sabre you've ever known. Go now!"

Shira spoke briefly to her father, waiting further along the cave entrnce tunnel. From the exhasted set to his shoulders she knew how long he had been awake, keeping vigil over his dying father. "Thankyou, Father." She said softly, and he grunted, flicking an ear but not looking up.

She paused. Had he been listening? Did he know she planned to leave, that this was their final meeting?" He remained motionlessly sitting in the same spot. Shira turned away, flicking her short tail once in regret.

_Goodbye, father_, she thought as she exited the cave, right before a whirlwind of paws, fangs and claws bowled into her.

Dropping and rolling with her attacker's weight, she blocked his first two blows then swung her paw up to meet his third, smacking his head with his own paw. She kicked him swiftly in the gut to unbalance him then slipped deftly from his grip. She swung to face Fynn while Marco lay groaning on the ground, her teeth bared in warning. "If you even think about it, I'll have your ear off before you can blink." she warned, claws outstretched and pointing threateningly at the male sabre. Fynn gulped, then lowered his posture submissively to the tigress's ferocity.

Shira cuffed Marco scornfully on the ear as she passed him. "Nice try, Brother."


	2. A Call for Help

Diego loved the peaceful moments after dawn. Usually the first awake, he took the opportunity to hunt and fill his belly, his natural urges and diet unchanged despite the fact he was part of a herd, not Soto's pack, any more. He did a quick head count on the members of his herd before he left. Manny, slumbering at the foot of the tree where Ellie, Peaches, Crash and Eddie hung to sleep. Sid, snoring to his heart's content on a rock. Check and check. Diego shared a quick moment to wonder what his old friend Buck was up to in the subterranean world of the dinosaurs. It had been a few years since they had last paid the crazy weasel a visit, and Diego missed him, lunacy and all. Manny had his little family, Eddie and Crash had one another for company, and Sid - well, Sid never did think far beyond where the next meal was coming from. Sometimes Diego wished he had somebody to confide in, or just pass the time with.

Speaking of the next meal... Diego picked up the scent trial of a hare and began stalking. He usually ate away from the others so his carnivores habits wouldn't disturb them - although her wasn't above making the odd comment to Eddie and Crash that tigers considered possum meat a rare delicacy.

After tracking and dispatching the arctic hare Diego sat carefully grooming his short but dense fur clean again. His ear flickered as he picked up a faint yowl. Frowning, he paused, one forepaw raised. That had sounded a bit like...

The second call convinced him. It was the cry for help of a sabre-toothed tiger. Diego's head snapped up and he crouched down for a moment, focusing on the direction of the call. Then he made a huge leap and sprang off into a swift run, kicking up snow behind him. He soon realized the river was close by and instinctively he headed towards it. The third wail for help convinced him he was headed in the right direction.

He spotted the cub the moment he reached the riverbank. Clinging to a tangle of sticks and reeds, it was a tiny little thing, perhaps two moons old, if that. Diego didn't hesitate. He raced for the water and plunged in, paddling after the frightened cub as the current whirled her downriver.

He had practised his swimming - in true tiger fashion, he was not content to settle for his one swim when the valley flooded. Now he was glad for it as he struck out strongly, feeling the bumps of sticks and logs rebound off his side as he tried to catch the cub on her makeshift raft. It was falling apart in the turbulence of the water, one stick at a time, and was by now bobbing dangerously low, waves splashing over the little tiger. He could see her eyes stretched wide with terror, begging to be rescued.

Diego gasped in horror as they rounded a bend and a jagged rock loomed from the water. The cub was headed right for it! With a desperate slash of his hindpaws he kicked backwards and encountered another rock, which he pushed off with all his might, propelling himself from the water. "Gotcha!" He snatched the cub by her scruff and splashed heavily back to the water, but the rescue had cost him precious seconds. Diego flung his leg up to protect the cub in his jaws, twisting his body sideways in an attempt to swim around the pillar of rock. But he was too close. He smashed into the rock broadside and only with a supreme effort stopped himself from opening his mouth to roar as he felt the skin over his shoulder tear. The water helped pull him around the side and then they were past, Diego holding his head high to try and keep the cub out of the water. So much water splashed into his ears and eyes, and he was so numbed by the cold of the water and the pain of his shoulder, he wasn't even sure if she was okay.

He continued to swim, feeling exhaustion slow his paws. Then something caught his attention on the riverbank and he heard a surprised shout. A blur of silver fur, a feline figure, the familiar thud of paws hitting snow. Another tiger! A _white_ tiger! And she was moving faster than Diego had ever see any other tiger move, keeping race with them and then drawing ahead as the river carried he and the cub along. Even Soto's mate, who had been renowned for her speed - at least before the human hunters killed her - hadn't moved like this tiger.

"There's a log up ahead, you'll see it in a minute!" Shouted the tigress over the sound of water rushing in his ears. "Head for that and I'll help!"

Diego felt a renewed surge of energy and paddled as hard as he could as the white tiger raced further ahead of them, giving him a target to follow. The cub swung limply in his jaws, the current buffeting her small body. _Hang on kid, we'll get you out of here._

He saw the log, which had fallen and extended several feet into the water, the trunk arched diagonally, lowest closer to the bank, sticking up higher towards the middle of the river. Which meant there were rocks holding in place, which meant at any minute Diego might be driven into danger hidden by the churning white waters. He couldn't miss this chance. He didn't think the cub could live in the freezing water for much longer, and with his ripped up shoulder he was little better.

The white tiger appeared on the log and ran up to the far end, crouching down and calling encouragement as he drew closer. He was so near now he could see her eyes were a blue deeper than the sky, a blue that reminded him of the colour he sometimes saw in ice caves. Diego felt his heartbeat double, and told himself if was from the exertion of his river rescue. He lunged through the water and lashed out with both forepaws. His extended claws bit into the wood and he felt himself slow, then bang into the wood as the current tried to pull him free. He heard a whimper of fear from the cub and experienced a moment of relief; she was alive after all! The white tiger dug her own claws into the log and stretched down perilously far. "Give me your paw! I can't reach you!" She roared in frustration, her blue eyes frantic.

Diego let go of the log with one paw, his weight and the water dragging on his injured side, where a steady flow of crimson flowed off into the river. He almost lost his grip as sharp pains stabbed along his torn shoulder. Instead of grabbing for the white tiger's paw, he let go of the cub and at the same time shoved her with his free paw. "Save the cub!" He choked out, and felt a wave of relief wash over him when she caught the cub from the air and pulled her to safety. An instant later, the current ripped his single-pawed hold free and he was torn from the log.

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**A/N This is an idea I began writing after the third IC movie, when my concept of Diego's potential mate was a white tiger with a lightning-shaped marking I called Storm. I decided that Storm's backstory would work for Shira and their personalities were similair enough that I rewrote it. This story takes place as an alternate to Ice Age 4, where Shira never joins Gutt and his crew and like all normal sabres, has a healthy fear of water and cannot swim! **


	3. The River's Clutches

Shira felt the soaked, terrified cub wiggling in her grip and hastily pulled her up on the log beside her, steadying the little tiger against her flank so she wouldn't fall. Her blue eyes never left Diego though as the relentless current sent him crashing heavily into the end of the log, then swept him around and into the full force of the river. Shira had never seen any tiger fight as hard as he did - the way he had struggled to reach the log, then made the split second but obviously selfless call to save the cub instead of risking them both. Was this half-drowned little creature his daughter? She felt a sharp pain in her stomach at the thought of the cub growing up without her father. After all, though her father was alive, Shira had certainly never had him for support, so she could relate. Her frustration boiled over that she was unable to reach the sabre in the water, and she threw back her head and roared.

Diego had almost stopped fighting. The current was so strong; he had expended so much effort into getting the cub to safety he had none left for himself. But then he heard a roar - not of the water around him but of his own kind. _The white tiger_, he realized, and catching a glimpse of her through the foaming water, he made one final effort.

Shira stiffened in shock, her jaw dropping open. She had been sure she was about to witness the other tiger's death - but now, to her amazement, he was _swimming_. Against the tremendous force of the current, no less! Inch by inch he clawed his way through the water, coming closer and closer to the log. Where on earth had he learned to swim like that? And how had he found the strength to keep fighting? Shira let her surprise rule her for a few short seconds, then she burst into action. She grabbed the cub, gently but firmly, by her scruff and bounded down to the end of the log, where it was only a short hop to the safety of the bank. "Stay here!" Shira ordered, turning back for the far end of the log and anchoring herself with her back claws in the wood. The cub stretched up on her tip-paws, her eyes huge as she tried to spot her rescuer. Shira, forepaws close to the water, prepared to make a grab for the other tiger. He was close now; she could see his eyes (green, she noticed, an unusual colour for sabres where she was from) in which burned a fire the likes of which she'd never seen before. His paws slashed at the water fiercely, kicking up spray, but for once Shira didn't object to getting wet.

"Arrrr-ah!" Diego made a final effort and caught the trunk with his paws, and a moment later he felt the graze of the white tiger's teeth over his neck. She grabbed him firmly by the scruff of his neck, the way she had just picked up the cub. Then she pulled with all her might, playing tug of war with the river. Diego panted and kicked weakly, but it became obvious how much he was hurt when he was halfway out. His entire shoulder was crimson with blood. Still, he thrashed for a hold with all four paws, helping propell the pair of them to safety. Ignoring instructions, the cub had run back to the far end of the log and buried her teeth in Shira's short tail, "helping" pull them up. With a flurry of paws and a scattering of river-water, they all tumbled onto the bank.

Shira was the first to recover, about a minute later. Breathing heavily, she rose to all fours and looked down at the pair she had helped rescue. The cub looked cold and scared but also just the littlest bit triumphant. Diego was still panting heavily, obviously spent after his exertions - and he was bleeding everywhere. Both of them had started shivering and Shira cursed under her breath - lying in the snow and wind like this was only going to chill them further.

"Can you walk?" She asked the male sabre, who growled and lurched to his paws. "Y-yeah." He was trying to stop his teeth chattering, though. Shira took a moment to figure out how to pick up the cub, not an easy task with three-inch long sabre teeth to consider. Somehow it had seemed easier during the lightning fast rescue when she didn't have to think about it.

Shira spotted a sheltered hollow by a pile of boulders with a screen of shrubs further up the bank, which looked like the nearest place to get out of the wind. "Can you make it up there?" She asked around a mouthful of cub neckfur. Like all young cubs when carried, the little tiger allowed herself to go limp in Shira's grasp so she'd be easier to carry. Diego looked up wearily as if he were debating slumping back down in the snow, then nodded slowly. He stumbled when he put weight on his injured side and silently Shira slipped around him and propped him up with her shoulder. He glanced sideways at her, surprised by her strength, then dipped his head to thank her. The warmth of her side burned all the way through his cold fur.

They made it to the hollow and Diego immediately slid down into a lying position, groaning softly. At least there wasn't quite so much blood coming from his shoulder wound now. He had never felt so battered in all his life, not even after his fight with Soto. Shira placed the cub between her forepaws and sniffed her carefully. She didn't seem to be hurt, just cold. Shira began to briskly lick the cub's fur backwards, which she had seen a few tigresses do with their newborn cubs to help them breath. Within a few minutes the cub began to relax.

Diego managed to lift his head to watch them. "Are you her mother?" He asked, and was secretly impressed at the attitude she showed when she flashed him a whithering look.

"Of course not! Do we look anything alike?" She snapped. Diego might have laughed if he wasn't so tired. He'd never in his life seen a tiger who was so unique! She had such striking silver markings around her face - and those eyes! He'd never seen a tiger with blue eyes before.

The cub seemed to rouse herself a little at the sound of the adult's voices. "Mama? Da?" She asked in a small voice. Shira's expression softened just slightly. "Sorry, little one. I don't know where they are. We'll look for them soon, okay?"

The little tiger nodded solemnly, but Diego was still thinking about '_we'll_ look for them' part. Then the cub tilted her head. "Sam?" she asked hopefully, looking between Shira and Diego. Diego shook his head a little. "Sorry kiddo. Don't know any Sams. But my name's Diego."

The cub whimpered. "Me Sasha." She whispered, tucking her head against Shira's chest. The white tiger felt a completely unexpected surge of affection for the little runt at the gesture. She curled her forepaws around the youngster protectively. "I'm Shira." She said, although Diego couldn't figure out if she was talking to him, or to Sasha. Somehow it didn't really matter. The name replayed in his mind like an echo.

_Shira_.

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**A/N Thanks to all my reviewers so far :) The more you comment - even if just to tell me you liked reading it or something equally quick - the faster I will be encouraged to update! **

**For those of you who are interested; I do proofread - but as I am dyslexic, sometimes I simply cannot make out minor spelling errors, so please don't think me lazy. I don't mind having my errors pointed out [politely] though, it means I can go back and fix them at a later date. **

**Thanks also to my guest who let me know Shira has ben added as a character in the menu, you're a champion! **


	4. I Hunt Alone

The wind whistled a lonely tune through bare-branched trees, and Diego pricked up his ears, listening. "Storm's coming in." He muttered, short tail swishing in agitation. He stretched, extending his forelegs out in front of him and grunting at the still-raw tear over one shoulder. At least it had stopped bleeding, but it was still messy. _And_ it hurt. Not that he was actually showing that, naturally. He had his reputation to think about, after all.

Shira had cradled Sasha, the tiger cub Diego had pulled from the river, to sleep between her forepaws, occasionally shooting a warning glower at the male sabre as if daring him to comment. Wisely, he didn't. Shira sniffed the bitter cold air and nodded once in agreement. "Mm, I can smell it." She cast a doubtful look at the sleeping Sasha, then got up carefully, so she wouldn't disturb her. The cub whimpered and curled herself into a ball. Shira padded over to Diego, who eyed her uneasily, not sure of what she wanted and not entirely comfortable with the idea of having her so close. Shira, ignoring his bristling neck fur, leaned over him and examined his shoulder. "That looks nasty." She murmured, while Diego made an attempt to shrug nonchalantly, which, because it moved his shoulder, wound up as a wince. "Ah, well, I've had worse." He bluffed as cover.

"I'm sure." Shira replied dryly, then to Diego's surprise, she gave the shoulder a few quick licks, cleaning the injury as best she could. Diego held still and didn't let himself flinch. He had to admit, his shoulder felt better once she'd finished.

"Thanks." He muttered, and Shira nodded before pacing over to the entrance of their little hollow and looking outside. She stood with her head lifted, watching the low-lying clouds scurry across the sky. How many hours had she spent on her own, watching the skies? But the solitude of her early life meant she had some experience in predicting the weather, and the storms of the Ice Age did not tend to be forgiving. "This storm's going to be a big one, I think. We should be fine in here, but I want to go hunting first - Sasha's had a shock, and she'll need food when she wakes up. That'll be easier before the snow starts." She spoke decisively - not with the voice of somebody used to giving orders, but in the self-sufficient tones of someone used to making her own decisions.

"Wait!" Diego called as Shira made to head outside. She paused and looked back over her shoulder. "I can come with you-" He began to offer, this thoughts turning briefly to the herd. Surely, they must have noticed his absence by now.

Shira raised a paw and cut him off. "No thanks, I hunt alone. Besides-" Her icy blue gaze softened just slightly. "Somebody needs to stay with the cub. Your shoulder just nominated you." She flashed a teasing grin that left Diego utterly speechless, then left with a single leap that carried her out of sight.

Diego stared after her for several moments, still feeling a bit stunned. What on earth was wrong with him? Grunting, he heaved himself up and shifted to lie down by Sasha, so he could keep the youngster warm with his body heat. He felt uncomfortably warm himself, but he put it down to his injured shoulder. What other reason could there be?

Shira tracked carefully through the snowy landscape, trying to keep her mind focused. It kept straying back to the hollow by the river, to Sasha and Diego. _Concern for the cub, nothing more_, Shira told herself firmly. She certainly didn't care about _him_. They would find Sasha's parents, deliver her to safety, then he would get back to attempting to drown himself, or however he passed his time, and she would carry on in search of her destiny.

The white tiger did not realize, as she tracked down and dispatched a deer, that her destiny was already upon her.

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**A/N - Short one, I know! I ran out of time to write for now and decided to post this as it stands quite well as a chapter of its own - and because I know you guys want fast updates! The more reviews, even to just say you've read it, the faster you get your updates!**

**Glad you guys are liking it! And what a great compliment isanimes, I'm humbled you think my writing good enough to reread that many times :D **


	5. Snowed In

When Shira returned to the riverside shelter, the wind had already whipped up, and her short silver and white fur was dusted with fresh snowfall. Gamely she pulled her catch along though, until she spotted the shelter - with Diego standing, leaning to one side to compensate for his wounded shoulder, _outside_.

"What are you doing?" She dropped the deer to snarl. Diego preformed half a shrug and looked a little sheepish. "Just checking to see if you'd be back soon." He replied a lamely. Shira snorted. "I_ told you _to look after Sasha!" She barked, placing a paw on his nose and shoving. She timed it just right for Diego to shift his weight and find himself propelled back inside, making a very undignified landing on his back. "Hey!" He protested. "I only stepped outside for a- ugh!" Shira stepped on him as she came inside, pulling her catch in after her. Sasha had waken up and sleepily blinked at the adults, but she giggled when Shira trampled Diego.

"Oh, you think that's funny, huh?" Diego snorted, rolling back to all fours then swooping on the cub. Her laughter filled the air while the much bigger sabre pretended to wrestle with her. Shira watched silently, feeling her heart melt just a little. He did care about the cub. He wasn't so bad...

"Let's get some food into the two of you." She offered, and Sasha bounded over at once, purring and nuzzling agaist the white tigress.

"Er, thanks." Diego sat up, fur ruffled after the play session. His male pride was kicking back in now and he was a little embarrassed at Shira having to catch him a meal.

_I didn't do it for you_, Shira thought, but somehow, she couldn't bring herself to say the words aloud. Once they were all snacking on the fresh meat, Shira cast a brief glance at the male sabre. "So, what made you do it? Do you know her?" She nodded at the cub, who was trying to fit her still-short canines around a leg bone and giggling to herself.

"No, I just heard her calling for help in the river." Diego explained. "Couldn't just leave her to drown." He looked back at their meal, getting embarrassed again.

"Do all tigers around here swim?" Asked Shira next. Diego pricked up his ears. _I knew it - she's not from around here. No tiger I've ever seen has fur like hers, with those pretty silver stripes and_... Diego cut off midthought. What was _that_?

"Uh - no. I don't think so." He admitted, feeling self conscious now. Shira had finished her meal now and had her sapphire gaze fixed intently upon him. Diego felt like he imagined prey would under the eye of a predator. "So why can you?" She had a direct, refreshing way of speaking, one that went with the blue fire of her eyes.

"That's a bit of a long story. Our valley flooded, it was... sort of a sink or swim situation."

Shira's tail swished thoughtfully. "_Our_ valley?" she questioned, her voice tough to hide the flash of disappointment she felt. She wouldn't let herself admit that she had sort of been starting to hope that he was a lone tiger, like herself.

Diego shifted his paws nervously and then began to groom his fur clean after his meal. This was the first one of his own kind he'd had contact with since leaving Soto's pack. He didn't know how another tiger would react to the news he lived in an inter-species herd. Sasha was still half-playing, half-eating her meal, paying little attention to the boring adult conversation.

"My herd." Diego bit the bullet. Shira tilted her head. "Herd? Tigers here live in herds?" Diego shook his head, growing more uncomfortable by the minute. "No... just me." He muttered. "It's another long story." His mind flashed back to the human child who had led him to his herd. Why was it he was always saving kids? He wasn't exactly the best example of 'father figure' he could think of.

Outside, the wind suddenly rose and shrieked through the trees, making Sasha jump. Having finished eating, she crept over to Diego and Shira, whiskers drooping in fright. Diego placed a paw on her head and ruffled her ears gently. "Don't worry kid. It's just a little storm." He said kindly. Shira picked up the remains of the deer. "I'd better take this outside." She decided, and Diego felt a faint pang of worry. "Be careful." He spoke without thinking, and Shira flashed him an annoyed glance. "I've been taking care of myself for a long time, buddy. I don't _need_ you telling me how to live my life." She snapped, and effortlessly hauled the leftovers outside.

Oops.

**A/N Hope you guys enjoyed this one! Diego and Shira snowed in to a romantic hideaway, ooooh ;) thanks to all my reviewers, keep it up and you'll see more soon!**


	6. Everything Under Control

The grey skies continued to fling snow at the already icy world below as three tigers, strangers to one another before the day began, sought shelter in the hollow by the river. The entrance was nearly all snowed in now, the shrubs growing as a screen vanished under a thick white blanket. Diego, used to weathering storms, kept the very top open by poking branches through, allowing fresh air in. He decided it must be past midday by now, though of course with the tiny strip of sky they could make out completely obscured by the stormclouds, he couldn't be certain.

Sasha, full after her meal and content enough in the presence of the two sabres who had saved her life, had curled up for a nap. Diego watched her tuck herself into a fluffy ball beside Shira. Now her fur had dried off properly, he could see she was quite light, almost cream-coloured, though not pale enough he couldn't see her white chin, chest and underbelly, trademark colour of most tigers he knew. Diego shuffled his paws. "Thanks - for helping." He nodded towards Sasha, meaning both helping get her out of the river and look after her since.

"Don't mention it." replied Shira in an offhand manner, twisting to give a cub a quick lick between the ears as she squirmed in her sleep. She settled at the touch.

_She would make a good mother_, Diego thought despite himself. _And with her sharp tongue, her kids would be the best-behaved cubs around_! Of course, due to the said sharp tongue, he knew better than to voice his thoughts aloud. Instead, he kept the topic focused on their new charge.

"Where do you think her family are?" He questioned, and Shira frowned. "I don't know, but she's way too young to be on her own. No tiger ought to let such a young cub fend for herself." She spoke so vehemently Diego almost flinched. "Woah - are we still talking about Sasha, here?" He asked, and Shira growled at him. "Of course." But there was a catch in her voice that made Deigo think otherwise. The male sabre found himself sitting down at Shira's side, captivated by the hint of pain he detached behind her tough front... longing to so something to help.

"You know Shira... I'm not the bad guy, here." He reminded her gently, half expecting her to snap or claw at him in response. When she did neither, he carried on. "If there's anything that you want to tell me, you can."

For a long moment Shira studied his face - tough, macho, cocky even, but with real compassion, the kind she'd seen him display with Sasha when the cub lowered his defenses, shining in his eyes.

His very green eyes.

Eyes she couldn't look away from.

Eyes that made her _want_ to trust him, dammit!

Shira hesitantly opened her mouth to say something, and a trumpeting bellow split the air. Both Diego and Shira leaped to their paws, Sasha blinking awake. Shira had an expression torn between panic and determination, Diego of happiness. He knew the herd had come to look for him and by the sound of Manny's call, they were close by. Shira had come to the same conclusion, but to her, the sound meant something very different.

"Mammoths! And close, too!" With one leap she shot towards the entrance, paws outstretched. Diego gaped as her lithe body hit the wall of snow them blasted straight through it, scattering the soft powder everywhere. "Shira, wait!" He urged, wiping his face along his foreleg, but she was already hurtling back inside at warp speed, grabbing Sasha and leaping with her outside, where she paused for a split second to get her bearings. "Diego, come on! We have to get Sasha somewhere safe!" Mammoths were not natural friends of vulnerable tiger cubs. Diego wriggled out through the snow after Shira, annoyed when his brawnier body got stuck. Shira had sailed through as if it were effortless. "Shira, you don't have to worry about this mammoth."

"_Don't have to worry_?" Shira spat incredulously, and her eyes widened in panic when Diego roared loudly back to Manny. "What are you doing? You'll lead it right to us!" She hissed, and Diego sighed, still trying to find the words to explain his unorthodox herd as she struggled free of the snow drift. He popped out suddenly and managed to land on his feet, though staggering a little. His shoulder was better after resting, but still tender. "Look Shira, you don't underst-" He began, but was completely unprepared for the silver blur that struck him. A paw moving faster than a lightning strike whapped his paws out from under him then cuffed him on the head as he fell, half stunning him. He grunted as he landed on his face and at once, Shira was on top of him, pinning him with one paw on his shoulder blades and the other at the top of her neck. Diego choked indignantly on a mouthful of snow, but he was torn between anger and disbelief. Never in his life had he seen any tiger attack that swiftly. And she'd taken him down although she had to weigh about a third less than he did! Although of course, him being injured and unprepared gave her the advantage, he told himself. In a fair fight, he would have beaten her, paws-down.

"Let me up!" He wheezed, wiggling. She leaned all her weight on him to keep him down. Sasha, sitting beside them, burst into giggles as if this were all a big game. "Now, I don't know what your problem-" Her words cut off in a screech, her time to be interrupted. She yowled in surprise as a trunk wrapped around a back leg and hauled her off of Diego and into the air. She swung upside-down, taking furious swipes at her captor that hit only air.

Manfred the Mammoth glared down at the spitting tigress, then looked over at Diego. "You okay down there?" He asked dryly, keeping Shira far enough away from his face that she couldn't hook her claws into it. An anxious Ellie and a knee-high Peaches peered around Manny. The possum brothers were balanced on Ellie's topknot, shoving one another for a better view, and Sid was hiding behind her. He peered over at Shira with interest. "Hey, a white tiger!" He exclaimed with his typical deductive brilliance.

Diego scrambled up, tail swishing in agitation. "Manny, I didn't need any help, I had everything under control!" He protested, fur ruffled at having to be saved from a female sabre by his friend. Manny snorted sceptically. "Oh right. Cause from where I was standing EEEE-OOW!" The massive mammoth bellowed in pain as Shira neatly swung herself upside-down and latched her front claws into Manny's sensitive trunk.

Chaos erupted.

"Manny!" cried Ellie and Sid at the same time, and both rushed forward to help. Of course Sid got under Ellie's feet and tripped her, causing her to land with a colossal nine-ton bang right by Sasha. The cub panicked, wailed and ran. Ellie and Crash went racing up their sister's head and launched themselves at Manny, who was trampling around bellowing and trying to shake a snarling Shira off his trunk, where she was now grimly clinging with all four paws. Sid began to wail about a broken tail, of all things, even though Ellie hadn't actually landed on him when she fell. Peaches hid behind her mother, although her eyes were bright, as if she were enjoying this madness. Diego made a huge if rather lopsided leap and landed in front of Sasha, scooping her up in his jaws before she could run too far. Crash and Eddie had caught a hold of Manny and were now bravely, if foolishly, throwing themselves at their brother in law's attacker. Blood-curling warcries filled the air, mixed with Sid's mourning about his broken tail and how he'd never walk again, Manny's trumpeting, and Shira's growls. The possum brothers were now scrabbling at Shira's ears and she shook her head sharply, sending one of them flying to land on top of Sid. Naturally, he set up a fresh round of wails. Diego stared at the scene in horror for a moment. Then he dropped Sasha gently, covered her ears with a paw, and roared at the top of his lungs.

"**ENOUGH**!" It was loud enough that it echoed up the riverbed twice, and every single animal there froze. "Manny, Shira, Eddie, let go of each other, right now!" Ordered Diego. They were all so surprised at the forceful tone of voice that automatically they did what he said. Shira unhooked her claws from Manny's trunk and dropped gracefully to the ground. Eddie leaped off Shira's head and ran over to sniff his groggy brother. Diego turned his baleful glare on Sid. "Sid, if you say one more word about your tail, I'll bite it off myself! Help Ellie up! Can't you all see you're scaring the cub?" He snapped, and bent over Sasha to lick her roughly between the ears. She cuddled into his leg, still a little fearful, oblivious to the amazed looks everyone present was giving Diego.

"Diegio, do you... know these herbivores?" Exclaimed Shira, and Sid put up a claw politely. "Actually, I'm an omnivore, but I prefer vegetarianism because eating right does wonderful things for your figure and-" He trailed off when Diego shot him a murderous look. Sid peeled Crash off the top of his head, where he swung by his tail, grinning jauntily and looking recovered from being thrown by Shira. "Of course he knows us. We're his herd!" Announced the possum as if it were obvious.

Manny's eyes narrowed threateningly as he nursed his clawed trunk. "How does he know _you_?" He asked Shira, looming threateningly close until the white sabre backed up, until she was beside Diego and Sasha. Ellie, far less suspicious than her mate, pushed him aside and leaned over Sasha to coo at the cub. "Oh, isn't she just the sweetest! Oh - Diego! You're bleeding!" she exclaimed. Diego glanced down at his shoulder. The wound had opened back up again when he jumped for Sasha. Sid pushed his way to the front of the assembled crowd, with Crash on one shoulder and Eddie on the other. "An injury? Allow Doctor Sid to take a look!" He exclaimed, leaning towards Diego to examine his wound. He promptly fainted, with saved Diego the trouble of braining him. Sasha leaned over and sniffed at the sloth's green-brown fur with interest.

The possum brothers sighed in disappointment. "Aww, we were going to assist Sid with surgey!" Crash whined, brandishing a thin, long rock like a scalpel. Eddie cheered up. "We could do surgery on him!" He said brightly. Crash nodded eagerly and jumped onto Sid's stomach, sawing at him with the rock. Fortunately, it was quite blunt and didn't so much as shave the sloth's fur.

"It's okay Ellie." Diego assured the concerned mammoth as he placed a paw over his shoulder to slow the bleeding. "I'm fine. Guys, this is Shira. She helped me rescue the cub from the river." Manny relaxed a little, although it wasn't obvious. If Diego trusted this sabre... still, she had clawed up his nose nicely and so Manny kept his senses alert. Just in case she tried anything.

Diego began the introductions, at a loss to think of what else to do. At least Shira wasn't trying to maim anyone in his herd for now. "The big guy is Manny, and this is his mate, Ellie, their daughter, Peaches, and Ellie's brothers Crash and Eddie. The good doctor is Sid."

Shira stared from mammoth of possum to sloth back to Diego. "You guys are the weirdest herd I've ever seen." she observed. Diego winced slightly. "I hear that a lot. Now, if we could all stop trying to maul each other for a little while - guys, _this _is Sasha. Sasha's lost her family and Shira and I were going to see if we could find them."

Shira didn't recall exactly agreeing to a join search party, but she didn't see how she could back out now. Sasha, not paying much attention to the grownups now there was no more shouting, was more interested in Sid. Following the possum's example (as the smallest and least threatening of the strangers), Sasha had climbed up and sat on Sid's round belly, peering intently into his face. He blinked and came around to find a tiger staring into his eyes. He screamed, and Sasha began to giggle as he hid his eyes behind his paws. "No see!" She pointed at him, and Sid peeked through his claws at her and realized she was just a cub.

"Get off that Sasha." Shira strode over and picked the cub off the sloth. "You don't know where it's been." she scolded, setting Sasha back on the ground. Peaches began to giggle (this joke being new to her), leaning around her mother to get a look at the cub. Sasha looked at the little mammoth, then she burst into a beaming smile. The two young females both came a little closer to one another. Sasha looked from Peaches to Ellie and Manny, then carefully studied Diego and Shira. Then she beamed, sitting on her haunches and reaching up to touch Peaches' short trunk. "Little." She announced, then she placed her paw on her own very short canine tooth to show the baby mammoth they were the same. Peaches got it immediately and gave a little squeal of delight. Just like _she_ was littlier than her parents, _Sasha_ was littler than the two grownup tigers! Maybe they could be friends!

Manny, keeping a wary eye on his daughter and an even warier one on Shira, turned back to questioning Diego. "You said her parents were missing?" The male sabre nodded. "Yeah, she must have come from upstream somewhere. She asked about her parents, and a 'Sam'."

"They might be in trouble- otherwise they would have tried to save her themselves." Shira added, and Diego nodded his agreement. Ellie had leaned over to wash Diego's shoulder with clean snow, and he shot the motherly mammoth a tolerant look. "Can you walk?" Ellie asked him, and Diego shorted, flexing his shoulder. "No problem." He boasted, his old attitude flaring up again.

"What about Sasha?" Asked Shira, and Manny noted the hint of concern for the cub. Clearly, Sasha had captivated not only Diego, but also the white tiger. There certainly was a charming appeal to the little cream-coloured tiger, Manny observed as she and Peaches began playing. Like young children everywhere, they needed few words to communicate their desire for friendship.

"I'll carry her." Ellie offered, stepping forward and beaming at the little cub. She held out her trunk. Completely over her earlier fears now she had made a friend and seen how comfortable Diego was with these strange creatures, Sasha purred and trotted willingly to Ellie. She curled her up with her trunk, while Peaches trotted happily beside them.

"We'd better get moving." Manny lifted the still-lounging Sid upright and let the possums scamper up his leg and sit on his tusks. Ellie fell in at his side, and Sid waddled after the mammoth family.

Diego found himself pausing, looking across at Shira. "So, you're coming?" He asked in what he hoped was a casual tone, hoping she would say yes. She didn't keep him waiting long. "Of course."

The two tigers brought up the rear of a very strange procession, setting out it search of Sasha'a missing family.

* * *

**A/N And the herd joins in with a nice long chapter for you guys! Hopefully I've kept everyone in character well, since while I find drama and romance easy enough to write, I tend to fall down a bit with humour. and let's face it - the sub zero heros are HILARIOUS! **

**A big thanks to ALL my reviewers, some of you had some interesting comments I've responded too this time!**

**Aquila - practice for a family in the future? How funny you should mention that :D **

**Emma - Hey, you have that same Mcdonalds tune in the Netherlands? We have it here in Australia, too! **

**Isanimes - hope you aprove now the herd is here, Carmina - I put in a little Peaches for you! **

**Story - we will certainly be seeing more of Sasha, though with such a big cast I can't promise she'll always be center stage ;)**


	7. Monsters With Huge Teeth

The herd, plus Shira and Sasha, were making their way through the icy land, leaving an odd assortment of pawprints trailing behind them.

"How on earth did you fall in with this lot?" Shira honestly couldn't disguise her surprise. Diego on one paw seemed to fit the macho male tiger stereotype pretty neatly. So how come he belonged to a "herd" which was filled with prey?

"Well..." Diego cast a restless look at the mammoths, leading the way, and Sid who was apparently giving a lecture to Crash and Eddie about the benefits of modern medicine. No rescue there. "I used to belong to a regular tiger pack. The leader gave me a task - steal a human baby from the tribe who had killed half our pack. I went after him, but Manny and Sid found him first and wanted to return him. On the way, Manny saved my life when I was about to fall into a lava river, and nearly died doing it. I well... learned what life was like in a herd. It's not so bad, you know."

Shira didn't comment on that, staring straight ahead for a minute with her brow furrowed. "Where do Ellie and the possums fit in?" She questioned. Diego sighed. "We found them later, during the flooding. Ellie was orphaned at a young age and raised by a family of possums. Believe me, it was some task convincing her she was actually a mammoth, but Manny got through to her in the end."

It was hard to tell what was going through Shira's mind. Her icy blue gaze gave away nothing. Diego casually kicked branch out of their way. "So, what about you? What's your story?"

Shira paused for less than a heartbeat, a tiny break in her graceful stride. Diego thought he saw a hint of sadness in her eyes, but it was gone so quickly, he couldn't be sure.

"I guess this sort of - family - is hard for me to understand." She admitted. "In the Western Prides, everything is different. Status is _everything_. My brothers all took after my father, they were always fighting - one another, and everyone else. Had to prove their worth." Her ears flattened, the memories of her time with her family still raw. She may have never clicked with them - but they were still her family.

"And where did you fit in?" Diego tried to make the question casual, not quite looking at Shira as he spoke. But he couldn't deny how much he actually wanted to hear about her life. The name _Western Pride_ triggered something in his memory, but he didn't spare a though for it now, focused on Shira.

She made that tiniest of pauses again. "I didn't." She replied, her voice hard and cynical. From the expression on her silver and white face it was clear she had said all she would on the matter.

There was a loud squeal from up ahead. Recognizing the voice as Sasha's, both adult sabres leaped into action and were at the front of the herd, neck fur bristling and claws out, ready to face anything. "What?" Demanded Diego, turning a full circle as he searched for danger.

"Take it easy tiger." Assured Ellie. She held Sasha up in her trunk so the adults could see she was fine. She looked excited, pointing her little paw. "Dere!" She was looking at a large boulder with one sloping side and a sheer face on the other. "Da! Da go up dere! For food." She exclaimed.

"Her father kept watch for prey up there." surmised Shira. Diego checked the fresh snowfall for prints and was uneasy when he found none. Shira sniffed the air, eyes narrowed. "Something isn't right here." She murmured, and Diego felt his fur bristle in agreement. It was so... still.

A small clearing was just ahead, with Sasha urging them on now - she clearly recognized where she was. Manny and Ellie soon began to have difficulty pushing through the dense undergrowth, which was filled with brambles and thick, woody shrubs that didn't give easily. They were forced to stand back as Diego and Shira led the way into the clearing, Sid carrying Sasha now but lagging well behind the tigers. Ellie had to hold out her trunk to stop Peaches, who was still little enough to follow. Though she had been excited at first to see her home, Sasha, sensing the guarded mood, was quiet in the sloth's arms.

"Look." Diego nodded to a tree, little more than a sapling, which had been used to sharpen claws. Two sets were up high, two down low. Shira huffed a breath into the cold air. She didn't like this at all.

"Looks pretty quiet." Manny commented. Though he couldn't reach the clearing, he and Ellie were keeping watch with their height advantage. Sasha stayed by Sid, looking around as if she expected to see familiar faces.

"Look, a cave!" Exclaimed Eddie, and he and Crash jumped into the clearing and raced over to a gap barely visible, shrouded by ferns under the roots of an old oak tree. "Wait! Eddie, Crash!" Diego yelled, making a grab at them, but he wasn't quick enough to stop the possums before they were inside.

For a moment there was silence. Then a fierce snarling set up from underground, followed by the brother's wailing. They both shot out of the cave far faster than they'd gone in, looking terrified.

"Monster! Killer!" Babbled Eddie, hugging Sid's neck so tightly the sloth choked a little. Crash in the meantime was clinging to Diego's ear. He growled in annoyance, swatting at the possum. "Stop that! What was it in there?" He demanded.

"Oh, a huge monster with huge teeth!" Wept Crash, burying his nose in Diego's fur, to the tiger's disgust. He levered a paw under the clinging possum and pried him free.

"Bigger than Manny!" Added Eddie, and Crash nodded in agreement, dangling from Diego's paw by his tail. "With huge teeth!" Eddie held his paws apart to show how huge.

"Oh, really." Diego said sceptically, looking at the small entrance of the cave. He dropped Crash, who landed on his head. Nothing Manny's size could even get into the clearing, let alone that cave, which got Diego thinking the brothers might just be exaggerating.

"Yeah!" Eddie defended their claims. "And it snarls even more mean than you, Diego!" Sighing, Diego walked to the entrance and called out. "We know you're in there, so you may as well just come on out. You don't want me to send those possums in there again."

Eddie and Crash looked horror-struck at the thought and flung themselves into the bushes at Ellie's feet for protection.

After a pause, a little cub face peeped out of the entrance, looking defensive. A young male sabre emerged, his red-gold fur several shades darker than Diego's.

"_Sam_!" Yelled Sasha, making one huge bound from Sid's arms and running over to tackle the other cub. He was a little bigger than she was, but he looked a lot like her in the face and he shared her large amber eyes.

"Oh, you two were right." Diego drawled, addressing the possums. "What a killer. I'm surprised you made it out at all." Eddie and Crash cringed then sank back into their bush.

"You must be Sasha's brother." Shira observed as the young male licked Sasha's ear and nuzzled her roughly. He grunted, then looked around at the strange faces with an air of suspicion. "Who you?" He asked warily, puffing out his little chest.

"Dey find Mama and Da wiv us!" Sasha told him brightly. Sam glanced around briefly and scowled. "Not find." He muttered. "Me look. No find. Never leave dis long." He hung his head and Diego felt a flash of amazement. This cub had been living on his own - even for a short time - and not just hding in his den, but searching for his parents? He glanced at Shira, and she scowled - not at him, at the emptiness of the clearing. Then she lowered her head to Sam's eye level. "Sam, we will help look for your parents. Do you want to come with us?" She asked softly, leaving the decision up to him. Sam appeared to think about this, trotting over and sniffing the possum's hiding place. "Rats come too?" He asked. Eddie and Crash's shocked faces popped up from the leaves. "Rats?" They echoed in disbelief.

Diego flashed his fangs in a grin. "I like this kid." To Sam, he winked. "We just bring them along in case we get hungry." Sam licked his lips and both possums hastily climbed to safety in the form of Ellie's back. Sam followed them and looked uncertainly up at the mammoths, but without backing off. "Who long-noses?" He asked next. There was an indignant snort from Manny, but Sasha just scampered over and rubbed her head on Ellie's leg. "Nice fwends! See! Ewwie, lift up!" She commanded, showing her brother how nice mammoths were. Ellie obligingly lifted Sasha in her trunk, holding her up for Sam to see.

Sam grunted and nodded just once. "Kay. Go now then." He decided, trotting off as if he were in charge. Diego tried not to laugh as he followed him, Shira falling in at his side.

For that brief flash, Diego almost felt like they were _his_ family.

* * *

**A/N- Well, I'm in uncharted waters now mates. Until now this has been a rewrite of an old (unpublished) fic I started years ago, and this is as far as I got then. It still amazes me how similar Shira is personality-wise to the OC mate I envisioned for Diego, it's made this story very easy for me to adapt! I do have to say though, I love Shira's movie design, I didn't think to give any of my OC Ice Age tigers stripes the way she has. It's one of the main reasons I wanted to rewrite this with Shira instead of keep my Storm, who was a white tiger with a golden lightning marking. **

**Rest assured I will be continuing this time, for as I have folk who want to read more - I have a few ideas that I hope you'll all like! **


	8. How Much Difference Does It Make

Shira and Diego led the way this time, both carefully scanning for any clue to the whereabouts of Sasha and Sam's parents. Sasha was happily riding on Ellie's neck, playing with Eddie and Crash, while Sam insisted on walking by himself. Manny tolerated the tough little cub's attitude since he could move faster than Sid, who was typically the one slowing them down. Every so often Sam would dart underfoot of Manny or Ellie, bringing forth annoyed snorts from the former and chuckles from the latter. Manny thought he was just being annoying, but Ellie had the cub pegged. He felt the need to proove how tough he was in the face of all these strangers. (She could picture Diego doing exactly the same thing at Sam's age).

"Any sign of them?" Diego glanced over to Shira to ask. She appeared more ill at ease the further they travelled, her short tail twitching, her neck fur bristling at the slightest crack of a twig or rustle of a leaf, and she was even more silent than usual, giving nothing away. Diego found his gaze straying to her often, but she was barely meeting his eyes when she did get around to looking back at him.

"No." Mumbled Shira shortly. "Keep looking - I'll catch up in a minute." She turned tail and bounded back past the mammoths and Sid, leaving a confused Diego at the head of the search party.

Sid was bringing up the rear - it made sense, he told himself, to have the most capable and resourceful herd member - ie himself - at the back to watch for danger. When Shira brushed passed him and vanished through the forest undergrowth, Sid cast a quick glance at the others. The mammoths were talking softly to one another, and Diego had just turned back to face the front with his muzzle wrinkled and his ears flattened in a frown.

This called for a Touch Of Sid! As subtly as he was able to with his pear-shaped body, Sid slipped after Shira. She wasn't easy to follow, leaving no tracks in the soft loam and leaf litter. Sid was impressed. _She's nearly as good as me_, he told himself loftily.

She hadn't gone too far, luckily, or Sid certainly would have gotten lost. She was sitting by a small pool of water, staring at her reflection silently. "Oh, hey Shira. Fancy meeting you oof!" Sid tripped on a protruding root and fell facefirst into the water. "Help, I'm drowning!" He yelled in panic, forgetting that he could in fact swim and had even survived a flood in times recently passed.

"Oh, for the love of-" Shira fished him out by the neck and sat him on dry ground. "It's only knee-deep, Sid." She sighed, and Sid patted himself down carefully then cast her a beaming smile. "You know, Diego saved me from lighting myself on fire once." He began, and Shira rolled her turquoise eyes. "I'll contain my amazement at that revelation." She replied dryly.

"He likes you, you know." Sid wrung out his tail. Shira snorted. "Yeah, so what? He likes everyone, from the mammoths to the cubs to those irritating travel snacks. He's pretty soft, for a sabre."

"Not when me and Manny first met him. He was going to kill us." Sid told her matter-of-factly. Shira sighed again. "That's what predators do, Sid." she pointed out to him, at the same time realizing she was sitting here carrying on a conversation with a prey animal. Lucky her brothers couldn't see her now. She'd never live it down.

"Not Diego. Manny saved his life and he realized how amazing it was to be a part of a family like this one. He protected his from his old pack." Sid said earnestly. Shira had no reply at first, she just looked down into the pool and flicked her ears. She might be the wrong colour - from her fur to the ominous dark stripes to her pale, washed-out eyes, but she knew she still looked a lot like her father in her facial structure. "How much difference does saving a life really make?" She asked, closing her eyes and remembering her grandfather, lying on his deathbed. Why couldn't he have lived? She could have stayed with the pack and everything would be normal again.

Except... except it never really _had _been normal for her, she thought sadly. Was fighting your own brothers normal? Was struggling to find acceptance because your fur was the wrong colour normal? Was your own father barely able to talk to you because of the shame of your existence _normal_?

And then here was Diego and his odd assortment of a herd. She could see how easily she would fit in with them. How simple life would be if she stood at Diego's side for every sunset from today until her last. They had all of them accepted her in their midst with ease.

And that was what scared her. The promise of the future she might have, reflected in a pair of shining green eyes. It was why she had kept her distance and become even more moody. She was afraid.

_You're being stupid. He doesn't even like you. And it's your own fault because every time he's spoken to you you've clawed his ears off_! Shira scolded herself silently. She closed her eyes against the reflection in the pool. Why would Diego ever think about a freak of nature like her that way anyway?

"Come on Sid. We're going to fall too far behind." She nudged the sloth and led him after the rest of his herd.

* * *

**A/N **

**Earthpatriot, as and ye shall receive - here is some Sid and Shira interaction for you :)**

**Thanks to Tomboy, Lady Chel, Lou, Carmina, and all my reviewers :)**

**Isanimes and Kayla you two are such loyal reviewers, and it makes me really happy to hear how much you're enjoying this! (Isanimes, I'm the type of person who re-reads things over and over too :D) **

**Kayla Sam is actually from the same litter as Sasha, she's just little for her size :) **


	9. When You Save a Life

Shira followed her scent trial back towards the rest of Diego's herd, forcing herself not to rush. He'd been out of her eyesight for only a short time - she couldn't be that anxious to see him! It was the cubs. Yes, she was just concerned for the cub's safety. Nothing more.

Of course she didn't realize until it was too late that it wasn't Sasha and Sam's safety she ought to be worrying about.

The snap of a twig came from up ahead and off to her left. Shira froze instantly midstep, one forepaw raised. Sid didn't notice and bumped into her. "Oh, sorry Shira - Shira?"

She hissed softly. "Quiet." She warned, her fur already standing on end in a spire from neck to midway down her back. She couldn't catch any scents, but she was sure there was somebody else nearby.

Somebody who didn't want to be seen. And from the sharp sound of the twig breaking... it might be somebody big. She stayed where she was.

Sid did not share the tigeress's patience. "What is it?" He asked, causing Shira to make one of her lightning-fast swipes and close her paw around his mouth, firmly keeping it closed. "I don't know yet. And if you don't shut up I'm not going to figure it out." She growled softly. Horror etched on her features when she heard an answering chuckle from the thick juniper bushes before them.

A very deep chuckle, low, menacing, and completely self assured. Shira stared with dread into the bushes.

With an explosion of leaves, berries and pine needles and backed by an aggressive, guttural roar, out burst an **enormous** cat, three times Shira's size, muscles rippling like glacier ice. Shira yowled and Sid screamed as she released his jaw then gave him a huge shove, throwing him several feet. "Sid, RUN!" Roared Shira, trying to leap clear after him. The massive feline batted at her with a paw as she was arching into the jump, and her graceful flight was interrupted, her pale body was driven into the forest floor. She gasped, willing herself not to respond to the pain.

WHUMP. The paw - the size of her head - came down again and missed her by a fraction. The very earth shook. Shira, despite all her confidence, her spunk, her bravery and her honour, knew one thing - fighting this monster was an impossible task_. Cave Lion_, came her father's warning voice from her memory. Desperately, she recalled lying on the fringes of their family group, her brothers crowded around their father, listening to his rasping tale of caution. _They are the largest of all cats, bigger than the largest Sabres you know. They hunt anything with fur, and no one save for the adult mammoth is safe from their immense strength. If you are ever unlucky enough to encounter one, outrun it, and do not waste time standing and fighting. They have more endurance than most, and if you do not loose it quickly, it will hunt you down and slay you_.

There was no way this could end well.

"Sid, run, I'll lead it off!" She hissed, but the sloth gave her a panicy look. "But Shira, he'll - AAAHHH!" Sid ducked and just missed being beheaded by a whisker. Shira screeched as the much bigger predator hooked her off the ground and tossed her aside with no effort.

_Cat and mouse_, Shira thought dazedly as she landed and slid on her side before she weakly clawed a tree to stop herself._ Except I'm not the cat, for once_.

Faintly, an enraged roar echoed in her mind. Was this another memory? No... it was too clear for that. Too close.

Diego had slowed down and was casting so many looks back over his shoulder he was almost crabwalking. Manny was starting to mumble under his breath and Ellie tactfully placed Sasha on the ground. "How about a quick break." She suggested, watching Sasha scamper over and pat happily at Sam, then headed for Diego. The adult sabre gave her a worried little nuzzle, then hastily pulled back as if he were worried the others might think him soft.

Ellie came to stand by Diego, who looked up at the she-mammoth with concern. "Ellie, Shira's been gone a while. Do you think she's okay?"

"Sure Diego, Sid's with her. And you know nothing can kill that sloth." Ellie reassured him confidently.

At that moment, the herd caught the foggy sound of a roar. Diego leaped to his paws in panic. "_No_! Protect the cubs, I have to go back!"

He ran. He pushed himself harder than he ever had before. Faster than he chased the deer that had mocked him, faster than when he slid down the ice tunnels, faster than when Manny thought he heard another mammoth trumpeting...

_Shira was in trouble_. He let rip with a roar of helpless fury, hoping she could hear it, that she knew he was coming for her.

The massive cave lion strode closer to Shira's dazed figure. Sid caught his breath in horror, grabbed a pine cone, and threw blindly. For all his clumsiness, barely able, in fact, to walk in a straight line, for once Sid excelled at something physical. The pine cone sailed through the air and smacked the lion right between the ears. It whipped around, snarling menacingly at the sloth. Shira staggered to her paws, shaking her head, in time to see Diego running like a golden bullet straight towards them.

"Get away from them!" Bellowed Diego. He left the ground and sailed through the air, hurtling into the back of the cave lion and clinging there with all four paws, trying to get a grip with his fangs. The lion growled and leaped and shook, trying to dislodge him. Sid, wailing incoherently, continue to hurl pine cones because he couldn't think of anything else to do to help.

"_Diego_!" Gasped Shira, unable to believe he was being foolish - no brave - no, FOOLISH! - to attack a cave lion. The lion figured out how to get rid of Diego and rolled, and hastily the sabre leaped away before the much bigger cat's bulk crushed him. Trumpeting announced that the rest of the herd had arrived. Manny rushed forward to help, while Ellie kept Peaches under her belly and stod back from the chaos, protecting her. While a cave lion wouldn't he able to kill a healthy, full-grown mammoth, a calf like Peaches would be just its size. Ellie then had to wrap her trunk around both Sam and Sasha. Upon seeing Diego and Shira under attack, both cubs had tried to rush in to help.

Manny bulled into the cave lion, which reeled from his heavy blow. Then it seemed to shake off the hurt, springing back into action, jumping right over Diego and going after Shira, claws out, teeth bared. Diego snarled, leaping after it and hooking his claws into a hindlegs to drag it off balance. Manny tried to catch the lion with his tusks, but the overgrowth cat clawed his trunk up, forcing him back, then kicked Diego in the chin and reared up. Shira was directly in the trajectory of those lethal forepaws.

Diego sprang and shoved her aside to safety. He tried to duck the swipe meant for her but he was a fraction too late and the heavy claws opened up his still-healing shoulder wound. But Manny had come back for the next round. "Get away from my family!" He trumpeted, and with a huge crack his tusk cracked on top of the lion's head. It fell, unmoving, the fight draining from the expansive body.

"Shira. Shira!" Diego nearly panicked when she didn't answer him at first. He crawled over to her, all but dragging his injured leg to her, but reached his good paw for her face. Forgetting how tough and proud she was, forgetting that she might bite all of his toes off, forgetting everything except the need to see those glacial blue eyes looking back at him.

"Diego." Murmured Shira, her words sounding far softer to his ears. "You saved my life. You fought a _cave lion_ for me." She opened her eyes, and looking down at her, hearing her sweet voice, Diego nearly collapsed with relief. Heedless of the blood flowing and the pain running all the way down his leg, he pushed his muzzle at her and pressed his cheek down over hers. "Shira." He murmured again, his eyes closed, her breath warm on his cheek, and when she stretched her head up and ran her nose along his jawline to return his thankful nuzzle, he thought he just might be the happiest sabre-toothed tiger anywhere.

Ellie released Sam and Sasha and the pair ran over anxiously to Diego and Shira, as the adults broke apart - though Diego remained hovering over Shira protectively - and made sure they were okay. Sam was impressed and couldn't quite hide it, already picturing himself fighting a giant cave lion like his two heros, and Sasha was just happy to see her new friends were okay. Manny lumbered over to stand by Ellie with Peaches between them, and Ellie touched her trunk to his, letting him know how proud of him she was. Bravery and all. She knew he wouldn't stand to see any member of his herd threatened.

Eddie threw his arms around Crash. "Aw, bro!" He said tearfully at the tender scene, burying his nose in his brother's fur. After a moment he coughed and pulled back. "Wow, Crash, you really stink." He sniffled. Crash nudged Eddie. "Wait - that isn't me. Can you smell it too?" His whispered, his usually vague expression now one of anxiety. Eddie sniffed the air and immediately his expression mirrored his twin's. It was the faint, but noticeable to the possum's sensitive noises, smell of death.

They looked at one another then scanned the others. Their sister was talking quietly to her mate and daughter, and Sid was watching the tigers with a delighted expression on his face. Crash gestured to Eddie and the pair scampered off quickly, unseen into the undergrowth.

Usually, a solo mission like this would have been filled with silly games. Not this time. The brothers neared a rocky little hollow and Crash pointed out several tooth-marked bones scattered around. Eddie found a tuft of tawny fur and showed his brother. "Lion hair." Breathed Crash, looking around. Eddie gulped nervously. "This was its den, I think."

"That smell is probably whatever those came from." Crash agreed, pointing to the chewed-up bones. But Eddie didn't think so. The death smell was fresher. Clutching one another for strength, they inched their way through the deathly quiet hollow towards a row of drab green shrubs.

Crash parted a screen of leaves and his breath whooshed out of him in horror. Eddie looked over his shoulder and them staggered back with a moan.

Lying in a pool of blood were the bodies of two sabre-tooth tigers. The larger one had the same creamy coloured fur as Sasha did. The smaller, lither body was reddish gold.

Crash couldn't drag his gaze away from the tigers. All he could think of was the hope in Sam and Sasha's faces. How Sam had kept looking for his parents even when he'd been all by himself, how Sasha had perfect faith in the herd that they would be reunited with them.

"It's not fair." Whispered Crash. "They're too little. They need..." His voice broke and he began to sob. "They need their Mom and Dad. How are we meant to tell them? They're just babies!" His skinny body shook with misery.

Eddie slowly straightened up, suddenly feeling, for the very first time in his life... _old_. He didn't like the feeling at all. He looked down at the ground but didn't really see the of the snow-scattered-leaf-litter-patterns there as he made up his mind about what to do. Slowly, he drew Crash away from the shrubs, so they couldn't see the bodies any more. Crash continued to cry for Sam and Sasha's parents, sitting on the ground with his head in his hands. For a moment Eddie just stood there, trying to figure out what to say.

"Crash." He managed at last, his voice telling his brother how close he was to breaking down too. Crash looked up. Eddie pulled the branches and leaves back to where they were, blocking off the sad little graveyard. Crash stared, uncomprehending. "We're not going to tell the others." Whispered Eddie. Crash blinked. "But... but... shouldn't they know?"

Eddie put a paw around Crash's shoulders. "Do you remember when Mom died?" He asked quietly. Crash's eyes welled up again. The pair of them and Ellie had had the bestest, kindest, most wonderful mother in the whole wide world. None of them had ever spoken about her after she caught an infection one winter and died. It was too painful. "Do you remember how it felt to see her lying there, getting weaker, and we couldn't do anything? We didn't have any hope. We all knew what would happen." Eddie went on, and Crash nodded mutely.

"When Sam and Sasha think about their parents, they'll think about them the way they see them now. Strong. And healthy. And scary, because all tigers are scary." Crash smiled, just a little, through his tears. Eddie sniffled a little too. "They'll always have hope, because they'll picture them alive. And some hope is better than no hope at all. We can give them that." He said, very gravely. He held out a paw to help Crash up. Crash took it. Eddie used a leaf to wipe up his brother's tears, then for good measure he blew his own nose on it before throwing it away. They both looked back at the screen of leaves, then at each other. "We... we _never saw anything_." Crash whispered resolutely, cementing the vow begun by his brother, to never tell another soul of what they had found this day. Eddie nodded, then together the brothers headed back to their herd.

"Hey guys?" Called Eddie as he jumped up Ellie's shoulder, and Crash hopped onto Manny's. "We should try looking that way." He suggested, no trace of the horror they had witnessed evident on his face. Crash followed his example. "Yeah, the adult tigers wouldn't come so close to a cave lion den. Come on Diego, Shira, get a cave already!"

"They're right." Decided Manny. "Come on Sam, Sasha, let's go find your parents."

Shira had spent the past few minutes carefully licking Diego's shoulder better. She offered her slim shoulder under his good one to help prop him up as they rose together. A moment of understanding shone between blue and green eyes as he accepted her help. He wouldn't be too proud to do so in the future - and neither would she. Not after the way he'd come and fought for her.

"Wait for me, Sasha!" Squealed Peaches, and she and Sasha giggled with one another as they raced around the adults as the procession began to move. Sam rolled his eyes, then trotted after the adult mammoths and Sid. For a split second, hesitation caused him to look back, and he noticed the fallen body of the cave lion. Then Diego and Shira passed by him, and he forgot the moment of unease. He caught up with them and used his head to help prop up Diego on his injured side. Diego looked down at him, the plucky little cub, and smiled. Surprising both adults, Sam flashed a very quick smile back.

Sam knew now that Diego, and Shira, would fight to protect he and his sister, against the greatest of odds. It wouldn't be so bad, staying with this herd while they continued to look for his missing mother and father. His sister was already best friends with that little mammoth - and with them she would be safe. That was what mattered most.

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**A/N - Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter, I certainly enjoyed writing it, because I enjoy setting out action and also scenes that are really sad because of the different effects it has. Characters react very different to grief than they do many other emotions, and Eddie and Crash are a perfect example of that here. It's the first time they've ever felt like 'grown ups' by shouldering the burden and protecting the cubs, and weather it's a wise decision or not, they made it with the best of intentions in mind. **

**There will be just one more chapter in his fic, but never fear - I am already working on a sequel to follow it :) **

**Thank you THANKYOU for all these reviews! They have kept me very motivated to give you guys regular updates and not keep you waiting too long. **

**Mystery, well, you were right... **

**Jasonb I'm so glad you're enjoying it! Fanfics can really expand on a world you've enjoyed, some are very well written and I enjoy reading them as much as writing them! **

**Earth it was a good suggestion :D **

**Lou glad you I'm doing Shira justice! You know originally I was going to have her inherit her fur colour from her mother or perhaps grandfather, but in the end I kept her the only white tiger in her family so she'd be completely unique! **

**Swiftie what a wonderful compliment, thanks so much!**


	10. What the Future Holds

"Come on guys - I'll race you!"

Shira smiled fondly as the creamy-furred cub dashed forward, Diego laughing as his longer legs outdistanced her, Peaches holloring to wait for her, Sam jogging behind them all, his sharp amber eyes missing nothing as usual.

"Not joining in the fun?" Ellie had fallen in beside the white tiger. Shira shrugged one narrow shoulderblade lightly. "I'm not as fleet as I once was." She remarked, and Ellie beamed down at her. "I thought you were, as well! Yours are going to be here before my number two though." Ellie rubbed her trunk with her belly and smiled.

"Have you told Manny yet?" Shira asked. Peaches couldn't know yet - if she knew, she'd have been so excited every mammal in earshot would have heard the news. Ellie shook her head. "When I'm showing, I'll let him know, he'll be too anxious otherwise. You should have seen him the first time I was pregnant! Have you told Diego?"

Shira sighed. "Do you think he'll be happy?" Ellie blinked kindly down at the apprehensive sabre. "Honey, of course he will. Diego loves you, you know that."

Shira nodded absently. "I know." She couldn't help the small smile that edged into her muzzle at the thought of how Diego doted upon her. Then she twitched her ears doubtfully. "But we've all but adopted Sam and Sasha, since we've been looking for three months now and there's been no sign of their parents. I know he thinks of them as ours."

"He's going to be thrilled." Ellie assured her. "Sam and Sasha too."

"I'm not so sure..." Shira shook her head impatiently. This sort of indecision wasn't like her. "But there's no point in wondering about it. I'll tell the others when we make camp tonight."

Sitting around the fire that Sid had lit, Shira kept her word that evening. "Everyone, I have something to say." He stood and moved to hop up onto a low rock. Ellie's head turned to check on her brothers - usually they would have had something silly to remark like how Shira was going to leave Diego after realizing what a bully he was, or some other equally brilliant joke punctuated with a burp. She cocked her head curiously when they sat attentively up to listen to Shira. What had gotten into them lately? Sometimes she saw them talking to one another in low voices with serious expressions. Nobody else had noticed anything, but then she knew her brothers best, after all. It was almost as if they were growing up, Ellie mused. Then Eddie shoved Crash for a better view and Crash shoved him back, right off the tree branch they were hanging on, and they began to swat and squabble while hanging upside down. No - they were the same old Eddie and Crash as always.

_Don't put it off any longer_, Shira told herself sternly, and she dived right in.

"Diego and I are going to have cubs." She announced. There was a second of silence which was broken by a double squeal from Sasha and Peaches. "I'm going to be a big sister!" Sasha jumped for joy, bouncing in place, and Peaches followed suit. She weighed around three tons now and when she landed the ground shook under her large round feet.

"We are?" Diego's face split into a huge, proud grin, and he puffed out his chest happily. Surrounded by his own kind again - he and Shira were going to be _parents_. The thought ought to have terrified him, but not since Sam and Sasha entered the picture. The inherent rightness of it filled the male sabre, and he knew this was the best news he'd ever gotten. "I'm so proud of you, Kitty." He murmured in her ear, nuzzling her cheek. She purred softly and batted his nose. "You too, Softie." She whispered back with affection.

"Congratulations you guys." Manny stepped forward to nod, and Sam grunted, noticeably less enthusiastic than the rest of the herd. "Yeah - congrats." He muttered, then stood and padded away from the flames. Diego rose to go after him, looking worried, but Shira held out a paw to stop him. "Let me go instead."

"Sam?" Shira approached the young male. Sam had lost the roundness of cubhood, replaced now by the leaner proportions of an adult tiger. He stood about half as tall as Shira did now. Diego took him on practice hunting lessons now. Sam learned swiftly, though Diego permitted him only to practice on small animals like rabbits or birds like grouse. The larger prey that packs of tigers often tackled were too dangerous for a youngster to get close too.

"I'm fine. You didn't need to come after me." Grumbled Sam. Shira sat beside him. "I know. There's nobody in this herd who can take better care of themselves as you." She told him, bluntly honest. She had a pretty good idea of what was bothering him and continued to speak.

"Nothing's going to change. We're still going to keep looking for your parents." She assured him. Sam glanced up at her, surprised she'd guessed. "We'll keep searching right up until I have the cubs." Shira already had everything planned out. "It'll take about a moon before they're big enough to walk, then we'll set off again."

Sam thought about this, then nodded once. "I'm sorry Shira." He said quietly. "I thought that because you were having your own family, it meant you'd forget about ours."

Shira licked the cub between the ears. He didn't even grimace and wipe it away. "I'll never forget, Sam. Because you, and Sasha, are a part of my family too."

Sam leaned against the white tiger's shoulder. "Do you think... we'll ever find them?"

"I honestly don't know, Sam. But that doesn't mean we'll stop looking. And it doesn't mean you should give up hope."

"Ahhh!" Diego ducked the set of claws aimed at his face. "Shira, look-"

"GET OUT!" Screeched the female tiger, her eyes wide with pain. It hurt Diego to see her struggling like this, and he didn't want to leave her. "But-"

"You put these things inside me!" groaned Shira, swiping at him again, but missing because she cramped up with a contraction. Ellie shouldered her way past Diego into the nursing cave. "Diego, just go and wait outside with Manny and Sid." The mammoth told him calmly, knowing his old friends would keep the expectant father calm. "Shira needs some alone time. With me." She gave the worried tiger a nudge in the right direction. Reluctantly, he left.

"How do they do it?" He sighed, flopping down by Sid. "Ellie wasn't nearly so difficult. Well..." He held up his paw to inspect, remembering how Ellie had nearly crushed it. Manny chuckled softly. "Shira will forget all the pain once the cubs are here, don't worry Diego."

"Do you think they're going to take after you?" Sid questioned. Diego sighed. "I hope not - I was a pawful as a cub." He admitted. Sid tilted his head slyly. "Get out."

"I _am _out." Grouched Diego, sense of humour deserted him completely, getting up to pace a circle around his friends. Manny held out his trunk to stop him but Diego just absently hopped over it so Manny let him continue, burning off his steam.

Manny was right about once thing - once the two cubs were huddled in Shira's belly fur, she began to purr, grooming the tiny scraps as they mewed and stretched their forepaws.

"They're beautiful Shira." Ellie smiled down at them. The firstborn cub was a male, and he was golden with striking black stripes. The second cub, a female, was almost all pure white. Her only marking was a shimmering lightning blaze that started between her ears and zigzagged down her nose and over her left eye. It finished up on her muzzle, right above her nose.

"Where is Diego? He's never around when I want him." Grumbled Shira, and Ellie had to hold back a laugh. "Okay Diego, come on in - meet your son and daughter."

Diego looked so overwhelmed when he inched to his mate's side that she melted a little and reached out to nuzzle him. His green eyes were enormous and he looked stunned. "Look how perfect they are." He hovered, as if afraid to go too near the tiny tigers. Shira nudged him until he lay down beside her, and they formed a protective ring of their bodies around their cubs. Diego dragged his gaze away from them and looked Shira over anxiously. "You're okay?"

"Tired. But they're worth it." Purred the sabre, licking his cheek. "What are we going to call them?"

"Storm for the female." Diego said at once, daring to touch his nose to the top of his daughter's head. "Look at that marking, just like a bolt of lightning."

Shira purred her agreement and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I think we ought to name the male after both of us. What do you think of Siro?"

"I love it." Diego agreed, gazing into Shira's beautiful turquoise eyes. "And you, too."

Ellie smiled, slipping outside to tell the news to the rest of the herd. The cubs would have a large but loving family around them when they opened their eyes and took their first, unsteady steps into the Ice Age. They would grow up strong and healthy, and soon enough she and Manny would have another new addition as well. The world might be dangerous as time, as Sasha and Sam proved only too well - but together, they would always pull through.

* * *

**A/N **

**I hope you all enjoyed the ending! Never fear - I've already started work on this story's sequel, since I had so much fun writing this one, and got such wonderful reviews and loyal follows in doing so :) **

**Did anybody see my reuse of Storm as Shira and Diego's daughter coming? I loved her design too much to just drop it altogether! **

**Thank you once again to all my wonderful reviewers - I wrote this for you all. **

**One final note; I know I've got a few Warrior Cats fans in my audience, so for anybody who's interested, please check out my new fic, A Warrior of Windclan! **


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